Fire, Stars, and Shadows
by TheDemon352
Summary: Modern AU where guilds are illegal. Lucy wants to be one but doesn't know how to join, until a certain pink haired teen crosses paths with her. How will Lucy's life change, will her past catch up to her, and what if Fairy Tail was discovered?
1. Chapter 1

It was another day in Hargeon, sunny and not a cloud in the sky. It's here that our story begins with a certain golden haired girl.

 _This is such a nice town; I don't know why I didn't come here earlier._ Lucy thought as she strolled down the street filled with vendors of all kinds. A certain object caught her eye and when she looked closer it was a strange key. Since she enjoyed collecting them she went in to buy it. "Excuse me, but how much does this key cost?" she asked. The owner who was an odd looking man replied, "5,000 jewel." _5,000 JEWEL! IS THIS GUY INSANE?_ She thought. _Good thing I'm wearing a skirt._ Putting her leg on the table in front of the owner she leaned forward and asked "Don't you think that's a little high for a girl like me?" he responded "4,500 jewel."

"I cant believe he only knocked down only 500 jewel, that trick should've work." She grumbled to herself. Not paying attention where she was going she ended up in the less friendly part of town. She bumped into a person bring her back to reality. "Sorry." She said before noticing where she was. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" the stranger asked. "I'll just be going know." Lucy said trying to get away. The strange man grabbed her arm forcefully "I don't think so Blondie." Lucy tried to hit him but he grabbed her other arm. "Let her go if you know what's good for you." Lucy looked behind her to see a boy about her age. He wore a dark jacket with a gold trim and white baggy pants, and a scarf for some reason. Even with his odd attire his strangest feature was his hair, it was pink. "Or what you little brat?" the man said releasing Lucy to turn to the pink haired teen. "Or I'm going to kick your ass" said Pinky as he threw a punch to the strangers face knocking him out instantly. "You ok?" he said looking to Lucy. "Y-yeah" she said shakily, "thank you." Pinky gave her a toothy grin that oddly sent her heart speeding. "I'm Natsu." He said. "Lucy." She said "So Natsu, how about I treat you to lunch to thank you for saving me" Grinning even more Natsu said, "I'd love to."

Saying Natsu good eat would be an understatement. It looked like the restaurant could close early because of him. "So Natsu… where are you from?" she asked while trying not to stare at his bizarre eating habits. "Magnolia." He said. After that not a great deal was said until Lucy looked out the window and saw it was getting dark. "It's getting pretty late I think I should head back to my hotel." Finally done eating Natsu looked up and said "I'll walk you back." Surprised, Lucy said, "No, it's fine, it's not far from here anyway."

"Even so it wouldn't sit right with me"

"I can handle myself, thank you very much"

"Like you did earlier?"

Defeated Lucy said, "Fine, you can walk me back". After she paid the bill that hurt to look at she and Natsu headed to her hotel.

About halfway to the hotel they were stopped by a group of men. "You were the one who beat up Bora, now your gonna pay." Said the one in front. "Get behind me Lucy." Pulling out her whip, Lucy replied "And let you have all the fun?" Natsu chuckled before rushing them head on, fists flying and Lucy tripping and tying up the rest with her whip. One of them got behind Natsu and Lucy tripped him but he grabbed Natsu's right sleeve, tearing it off as he went down. Natsu then kicked him in the gut. After catching their breath Lucy looked at Natsu and looked at his now bare arm. What she saw made her gasp; it was a red symbol that looked like a fairy. It was a guild mark, and having one meant risking your life if the government found out. "Aw shit, he just had to tear it off." Natsu said noticing what happened to his jacket. "Please don't tell anyone," he begged. Lucy just smiled at her luck. "I won't. Under one condition." "What is it?" Natsu said. Smiling even more Lucy said, "You let me join your guild."


	2. Chapter 2

"Tell me again why you want to join Fairy Tail." Natsu said as he and Lucy sit in a train, Natsu in a new shirt that covered his mark. "Because I read the good things that the guilds did before they made them illegal, Fairy Tail being the best in my opinion." Lucy said, "Ever since reading about them I wanted to be in a guild because I want to help people like they did." Natsu just gave her one of his signature grins, but that faded quickly once they started moving.

"Uh… Natsu? Are you feeling okay?" Lucy asked.

"Umf"

"You look really sick"

"I-I'll be fine" Natsu managed to groan. "I hate trains."

"Why do you hate trains?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"You get motion sick?"

Natsu's reply was cut off by the need to hurl. "Ewww." Lucy said. "But we just left! How are you motion sick?" Natsu was too busy blowing chunks to do anything for a good half hour into the ride. Finally, after Lucy thought he would never quit, pulled his head back in the window. He still looked a little green and his hair was messier than before. Lucy wanted to fix it, to see how his hair felt. _Wait, why I am I thinking that? It's just a mild curiosity. It's not like I like him or anything, we only just met._ Lucy thought. "Hey Luce, why is your face so red?" Natsu asked, bringing her back to reality. "I-It's nothing, and Luce?" Lucy asked. "Yeah, it's my new nickname for you." Natsu answered. Lucy was thankful Magnolia wasn't far from Hargeon. She wasn't sure how long she could stand this idiot and his motion sickness. "Hey Lucy, can you do me a favor?" Natsu said. "Ok, what?" Lucy replied. Natsu got up, sat next to Lucy, and put his head in her lap. Lucy made an embarrassing squeak at that point. "Rub my hair, it helps with my motion sickness." Giving in to Natsu, Lucy started rubbing Natsu's hair, all the while her face burning red.

Eventually they arrived at Magnolia station; coincidently Natsu had something similar to a sugar rush. He was running around the station and kissing the ground, which should have made people look at him funny but I guess they were locals and used to him. All was normal until she saw a hooded man, dressed all in black crouched on the rooftops across the station.

 _So Natsu's back huh? Took him long enough. It shouldn't have taken him this long to take care of a punk like Bora. Knowing him, he probably got lost. Doesn't matter now. I guess I should go tell the guild._ The man began running along the roofs of magnolia, but not before noticing the blonde girl that was looking right at him.


	3. Chapter 3

When Lucy saw the strange man she didn't feel like she was in danger, but that she was being watched over. Trying not to think about she went to Natsu and said, "So where do we go now?" Natsu grabbed her wrist and said, "Just follow me." And ran, with Lucy just barely keeping up. Despite Lucy's many attempts to get Natsu to slow down, he kept running until they reached a rather large building, a school to be exact. "Natsu, what is this place?" Lucy asked.

"It's Fairy High." Natsu answered.

"I thought you were taking me to Fairy Tail."

"This is Fairy Tail, the school is just a front so the guild can stay together and not attract suspicion."

"That's actually really smart."

"Yeah, it was Gramps's idea."

"Who's Gramps?"

"Our Master."

"So can we go inside now?"

"Yeah, I guess I can give you the tour later."

With that being said Natsu and Lucy strode towards the gates that stood in front of them. Natsu pulled out a key and unlocked it. Instead of going to the building in the middle Natsu went to the left a bit towards a much smaller building, though it was still fairly large. "This is the mess hall for the school, but really it's where the guild meets up and take jobs." Natsu explained. He led Lucy inside and she was surprised to see how many people were here. To say it was rowdy was an understatement. She looked towards Natsu just as he started fight another teenager who wasn't wearing clothes for some reason. But the fight was short lived as a red haired woman broke them up rather forcefully. Grimacing, Lucy looked around taking in everything. She was brought back to reality as the red head walked up to her while dragging Natsu along. "Um, hi." Lucy squeaked. The woman dropped Natsu and said "Natsu here told me that you wanted to join the guild, so who do you work for?". "Sorry?" Lucy squeaked. The woman replied, "Is it the government, or the police?" Lucy just stood there confused and just a bit terrified. Fortunately, her interrogation was cut short when someone opened the door behind her and said, "She's good Erza. You can stop now." Lucy turned around and looked at her savior. He was around her age with black hair, and he wore a black jacket with black pants and boots. "She's not with the government or the police. She's not on their rosters." He said. The woman, Erza, nodded and walked off. "Sorry about that, Erza just likes to make sure that newcomers aren't undercover cops or anything, the name's Tristan by the way." Lucy smiled and said, "It's okay, I understand why she did it. My name's Lucy. So how do you know I'm not a threat?" Tristan chuckled and said, "I'm actually quite proud of this one. I broke in to the police department and put a bug in their server room, so now I know everything they do including their rosters." Lucy's mouth dropped. "How the hell did you do that?" He smirked "While I'd love to tell you your boyfriend probably needs some help." Natsu groaned in response. Lucy's face was probably as red as Erza's hair. "HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" she screamed. "Whatever you say blondie." Tristan grabbed Natsu and carried him to a table. "Mira, can you get Natsu something to eat?" he yelled across the hall towards a pretty woman with long white hair. "So you want to join Fairy Tail huh?"

"Yeah, I've wanted to join a guild since I was a kid."

"Why?"

"Well I read that they did a lot of great stuff while they were still legal and I guess I just wanted to something like that."

"Well that's a good enough reason for me but I don't decide if you join or not."

"So who does?"

"Master Makarov, but he usually lets everyone in. Once Natsu eats and back to normal we'll get you in."

Their conversation was interrupted when the boy that Natsu was fighting earlier came up and said "Erza really did a number on Flame brain. I mean it was pretty dumb to bring a stranger into the guild but that had to hurt."

"Gray your clothes."

"Not again!" Gray eventually found his clothes and sat down at their table. "Hi, I'm Gray."

"Lucy."

"So Lucy, how did ya meet the moron?"

"Well he kind of saved me from this creep called Bora or something."

"So that's what took him so long."

"Wait, Lucy, you're the reason I had to watch the trains for this dumbass again?" Tristan interrupted.

"Why were you watching the trains?"

"Making sure this idiot was okay and not in a jail cell. When one of us is late on a job I go on top a building across the station and look for them."

"That was you earlier watching me wasn't it?"

"I'm surprised you saw me, not many people do."

"Here's Natsu's food." Mira said, setting down a plate in front of him. Natsu was up in an instant and devoured the meal. "When did the stripper get here?" He said between bites.

"After Erza beat the shit out of you dumbass." Gray answered

"You want a rematch Ice freak?"

Not a second later they were at it again, and Gray somehow lost his shirt. Tristan sighed and went over to where Natsu and Gray were fighting. He grabbed Natsu by his scarf and dragged him back to where Lucy was sitting. "Natsu, go take Lucy to Master, I have to meet a client today and I'm already late as is it is." He said dropping Natsu on the table. After that he walked to the door and said "And Lucy, welcome to the family." With that said he flipped the hood over on his head and walked out.

"What's the Master like Natsu?" Lucy asked as her and Natsu were walking to Makarov's office in the main building. Natsu stopped suddenly in front of a door and said, "You're about to find out." Lucy was shaking nervously and followed Natsu in. You could say that she was a little shocked when she saw the Master of Fairy Tail. He looked normal enough when he was behind his desk but when he had to literally jump of his chair to shake her hand she was surprised. No one that old could be that short right? Lucy was brought back to reality when he said "Natsu tells me that you wish to join the guild, and Tristan has already informed me that you have no affiliation of those who would bring us ruin. Tell me this, why would a bright young girl like yourself want a life of secrecy and fear such as ours?" Lucy thought a moment before giving him an answer. "Well you see sir, I actually have wanted to be in a guild for a long time now. I read some books on the history of the guilds and all the good that they did and I guess that I wanted to be a part of it." Makarov stood there in silence for a few moments then said "It has been a long time since we have had a recruit with such a noble reason to join. Go see Mira to get your mark and go meet the other members." Lucy thanked him and was just about to leave with Natsu before the Master said "Welcome to Fairy Tail Lucy."


	4. Chapter 4

**sorry for the late update guys, got to hate school am i right. so heres a late christmas present from me**

* * *

 _There's no going back now._ Lucy thought. Looking at her new mark on the back of her hand she knew she made the right decision. Smiling to herself she went over to where Natsu was sitting. "So how do like the mark Lucy?" he asked. "I love it. So I've been meaning to ask something, what exactly will I be doing in the guild?"

"Well for one you'll be doing jobs, they're pretty varied but most of them pay well. Also since technically this is a school we have to take classes."

"Wait, we actually have to go to school?"

"Yep, it sucks but Gramps wants all of us to have an education so he makes us go to school here. I'll have to take you back to him so that you can pick your classes."

"Oh, I was kind of hoping that I wouldn't have to go school anymore."

"It's not that bad, most of the teachers are in the guild after all."

"Really? I guess it wouldn't be so bad."

"Anyway why don't I introduce you to everyone?"

"That sounds great."

Natsu grabbed Lucy's hand and dragged her all over the guild so that she met pretty much everyone, there was Erza, the woman who confronted her when she walked inside who was actually pretty nice but a little off since she said Lucy could "strike her if she wished" for earlier. Then she met the Strauss siblings, Mira, Elfman, and Lissana. Mira was nice and all but she would always bring the conversation to Natsu's relationship with her, Elfman was saying stuff about being manly most of time, and Lissana was just as nice as Mira but less prying. While talking to Gajeel, a scary man covered in piercings and had red eyes, Natsu had to fight off this guy called Loke who was trying to hit on Lucy. They tried to talk to Cana but she had drank a little too much by then, considering that she grabbed Lucy's breasts from behind. After that Lucy had enough for one day.

* * *

 _Meanwhile_

After meeting with his client and receiving his pay for the job he completed, Tristan decided to go look for information on a few personal targets. He doesn't talk about it much, but he is a part time assassin. Many corrupt officials in Magnolia have been found dead, with the killer never found. As he drove his black motorcycle to one of the meeting spots for his informants, he thought about his guild's newest member. _She seems nice enough, but there's this feeling I can't shake off. It's almost as if she was hiding something. I know everyone in Fairy Tail has a troubled past, but hers is different. Whatever the case may be she's family now._

And with his mind at ease, Tristan soon discovered something that he was very happy with. One of his targets was visiting town.


	5. Chapter 5

**and i am back with an early update, and don't worry, this one is long**

* * *

Shortly after she got her class schedule and key to her dorm room from Makarov, Lucy went into town to get some clothes and other things she needed. _Its nice to be able to have more than what I can fit in bag for a change_. When she left the store, hands full with bags, she was shocked at the scene that she saw across the street. Two police officers had a person cornered on the sidewalk, it looked as if they were questioning him about something. Judging by their next move, they didn't get the answer they wanted. They were beating the man with their clubs. Lucy moved forward to help but was stopped by a firm hand on her shoulder. Whirling around, she saw that it was Tristan. He was in the same outfit as before except now he had black fingerless gloves and a mask covering the bottom half of his face. With his hood up he was almost unrecognizable. "I'll handle this Lucy, get back to guild." He said. "No, I want to help." Lucy argued. Tristan changed from his kind but sad face to one that was cold and unforgiving. "Lucy, I don't have time for this. Get back to the guild. Now." He ordered. He didn't wait for her reply. Tristan ran across the road and kicked the side of the first cop's knee and Lucy heard the unmistakable crack of bone. Before he could even scream Tristan turned around and kneed the second cop's stomach. With him doubled over in pain, Tristan elbowed him in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious. "Run." Tristan said to man the police were beating. After the man nodded Tristan ran to a nearby motorcycle, which Lucy supposed was his, and sped off. Lucy was stunned to say the least. On her way back to the guild thoughts were running wild through her mind. She was amazed at how quickly Tristan took out those cops. She was a little frightened at how his face changed into something she didn't recognize in seconds. Most importantly she was pissed. She could have helped him. She could have fought. Who was he to stop her?

* * *

Still seething, she went to her room to put up her stuff. It was small but not overly so. It had its own bathroom and a comfy bed. It had a small desk under a window facing the back of the school. There were also some bookcases, which Lucy planned on filling up. With everything put away, she decided to pay Tristan a visit. Since all the dorm rooms were on the same floor she didn't have to go far. Since the girl's room were on the opposite side of the building as the boy's she had to pass almost everyone else's rooms. They had no signs on them but if you paid attention you could tell who resided inside. The one smelling of booze was Cana's obviously. The one with Gray's faces on it was Juvia's, whom she had met earlier that day. There was Levy's room as well; her light was always on because she was reading some book. Further down she was in the boy's area. To her right was Gray's no doubt since it felt like a freezer even from outside. To her left was Natsu's; the various scorch marks on and around the door couldn't make it more obvious. Tucked into the corner, though, was the only room she was interested in at the moment. She could hear punk rock playing inside as she raised her hand and knocked. A moment later the music was turned down and the door opened. Tristan was in black sweatpants and a My Chemical Romance shirt, which showed the guild mark (black of course) on his right forearm. "I assume you're here because of earlier." He said somewhat dejectedly. "Come in". He closed the door behind her as she looked around her room. His bed was tucked in the corner with a dresser and nightstand near it. There were a few bookshelves stuffed with all sorts of books. The wall opposite the room had what looked like various kinds of guns on it. What was in the center of the room, though, is what caught her attention. It was a tall table that had a map of Fiore on it. There were various throwing knifes stuck in it almost as if they were marking something. "Before you say anything, I'm sorry." Tristan said. "I didn't mean to talk that way to you, but I couldn't let you jump in there like you were going to. I have no idea how you fight and how I can work with it, if you went in and got in my way there would have been a good chance we would've been caught." Lucy pondered on what he said for a moment. It made sense, it was a dangerous situation and he was trying to keep them both safe. "It's ok, I understand, but I want you to know that I can fight. I'm not helpless." Lucy said.

"I'm sure you can, you can't run away from home and not learn how to defend yourself." Tristan said.

Lucy's face paled and stuttered out "H-How could you know I ran away?"

"You have the look, I've seen it plenty of times. The way you stand, how you're always watching everything like someone's following you, there's other ways I can tell too."

Lucy calmed, knowing her secret was still safe. "Is it that obvious?"

"Only if you know what you're looking for. By the way, go and stop by Natsu's room, he's been sulking ever since you left so go and cheer him up."

"Why would you think that I could cheer him up?"

"Considering that you're all he's been talking about since he got back, you wouldn't even have to talk to him and he'll be right back to his normal self."

Lucy was blushing by time she turned around to leave. Was she really all that Natsu was talking about? She may have been embarrassed but she was happy that someone cared that much about her. Once she stopped blushing she knocked on Natsu's door wondering how it's still in one piece.

Natsu's voice came from inside "Who is it?"

"It's me," Lucy answered.

Not even a second later the door flew open revealing a smiling Natsu.

"Luce! You're back."

"Miss me?"

"Pft… no."

Lucy smiled knowing she had him. "Then why did Tristan say that you were moping around all day?"

"Of course he said something. Yeah, I guess I missed you." Natsu pouted

Looking inside Lucy could see things strewn everywhere and there were splotches on the walls that looked a lot like scorch marks. "It's almost time eat, wanna head down?"

"Always!"

* * *

 **and that was chapter 5, bear in mind that this is my first fanfic, so please, constructive** **criticism is greatly appreciated.**


	6. Chapter 6

_I can't believe it's already been two weeks. It seemed like only yesterday that I joined._ Lucy was in her room getting her things for ready for her first day of school. _At least when I was a run-away I didn't have to go to school._ While Lucy dreaded going back to world of uncomfortable desks and homework she didn't dream of going back on the run. With a final look at her outfit she grabbed her bag and walked to her first class, Geography. What she saw when she opened the door was not what she expected. The place was a warzone. There was no teacher in sight and everyone was fighting like Natsu and Gray, who were both in her class. The only person not fighting was Juvia and that was because she ogling Gray. Since Lucy had been in Fairy Tail for a while she was used to all out brawls. What surprised her most was that instead of the normal school desks there were beanbag chairs. She just couldn't understand the concept, her entire life it had always been those damned chairs that were harder than rock. She certainly wasn't complaining though. If someone wanted beanbag chairs then who was she to argue. _Now the tricky part, how the hell am I going to get anywhere without being sucked into the dumb-fest?_ Her answer came in the form of Erza Scarlet.

"What do you idiots think you're doing?!" Erza demanded.

Instantly everyone untangled themselves from whoever they were fighting sat down hoping not catch Erza's wrath. After Erza entered Macao came in as well.

"Alright you brats, sit down." He commanded. "Welcome back, my name Mr. Conbolt for those of you who live off campus. Today I will be asking all of you questions to see how much you know already." There was a collective groan from the class.

Unfazed he continued, "First I'll call roll so I know who's here. Natsu Dragneel."

"Here"

"Gray Fullbuster."

"Here"

"Juvia Lockser."

"Here"

"Erza Scarlet."

"Present"

"Lucy"

"Uh, here."

"Tristan EbonHeart."

"Here"

She had no idea he was even here. Lucy whirled around to find the source of the reply. Her gaze met with his and he smirked. She turned back around and listened to see who else was in the class. Unfortunately she didn't recognize anyone else.

"Miss Lucy, is there any reason why you're still standing?" Macao asked.

With a squeak Lucy realized that she hadn't sat down and blushed, she looked around for somewhere to sit and thankfully Natsu had saved her a spot. She rushed over, sat down, and hid her face in her hands. Today was going swell.

 _ **Tristan's POV**_

 _I'm back in school, wonderful. At least I can catch up on some reading._ So I go in my bag and pull out one of the books I brought. It's a good one, all about magic and adventures, just the kind I like. I listen to bits of what's going on in the class; so far nothing grabs my attention, just mundane questions on where is what. With my line of work I practically have the entire map memorized. After about half an hour or so my I heard my name called.

"Tristan, can you show me where the capital of Bosco is?" Macao said.

Without looking away from my book I grab one of the knives that I always keep on me and throw it towards the map at the front of room. Of course it hits right where I aimed, the answer to Macao's question.

"That's correct, but was the knife really necessary?" Macao asked.

"Was interrupting my reading for a stupid question necessary?" I shot back. Macao just sighed and went back to teaching. I like Macao but he should know that I could answer every question he throws at me without a problem. I might have overdone it with the knife but it definitely drove my point home. Fortunately for him I didn't lose my place, then there would have been hell to pay.

 _ **Natsu's POV**_

 _Ugh, why do I have to sit next to Ice Freak? School is bad enough without him taking off his clothes next me. At least Lucy's next to me too._ I tuned out everything and daydreamed for a while until a knife went flying into map. I immediately knew that Macao must of asked Tristan a stupid question while he was reading. I just hoped that he didn't lose his place; if he did Macao would be so dead. I learned that lesson a long time ago, it's almost as bad as knocking a piece of cake out of Erza's hands. I look beside me and Lucy looks like the first time she saw Happy, utterly shocked. Never understood that, he's blue so what? Anyway, eventually she figures out how to speak and says, "A knife, he threw a fucking knife."

"Yea I had a feeling he would do that."

"Macao just asked him a question, why would he throw a knife?"

"Must have been reading."

"He did all that because he was interrupted from his reading?"

"Yep, just be glad he didn't lose his place"

"I'm almost too scared to ask why."

"He can be almost as scary as Erza."

"Seriously?"

"Yep"

"Why is everyone in this guil-"

I covered her mouth just in time, if she finished that sentence we would have been screwed. "Lucy, you can't say that word here, okay?"

Only after she nodded did I take my hand off her mouth, but not before noticing how soft her lips were. Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

 _Finally, I thought this day was never going to end._ Lucy thought as she plopped down in one of the booths in the guild hall. Even though the day ended at lunch she was utterly exhausted. She put her head on the table and groaned. She heard someone sit across the booth and looked up to see Natsu's signature grin and a giant plate of food. "Hey Luce, hell of first day huh?"

"It was crazy enough to begin with when Tristan threw that knife. It didn't help when you blew up the chemistry lab. What I really wanted to know was what that History teacher was thinking telling Erza to put away the cake."

"Yea, he's new, things like this always happens when we get new teachers."

"Anyway, this morning you told that I couldn't say guild at school, I thought we were still at the guild?"

"We were but not everyone at this school is part of the guild."

"That makes sense, and why did we get out at noon? Isn't that a bit early?"

"For most schools, but most schools don't have combat training for rest of the day."

"Combat training?"

"Yep, I know you're pretty handy with that whip of yours but we all have to go to training. Except for today, and that's because we got a party tonight."

By this point Gray, Juvia, Levy, Gajeel, Tristan, and Erza had joined them and started talking about the party.

"I wonder how crazy it's going be this year." Gray said

"It doesn't matter to Juvia as long as she is with her beloved." Juvia stated

"Of course it doesn't" Tristan said dryly

"Ready for a rematch this year Salamander?" Gajeel asked

"You know it metal head." Natsu answered.

"I hope you're ready for tonight Lu, it's going to be crazy." Levy said

"I hope so too." Lucy replied. _I don't think I'll be forgetting tonight anytime soon._


End file.
